The Kansas City Royals are back in the American League Championship Series for the first time in 29 years. Cheap Air Max 95 For Sale . They will continue their quest toward their first World Series appearance since 1985 when they start the best-of-seven series against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards on Friday. While its been a generation since the Royals have been back to the Fall Classic, its been an even longer wait for the Orioles, who were last in the ALCS back in 1997, but havent made a trip to the World Series since winning it all back in 1983. I look at it as two fan bases starving for a winner, Orioles outfielder Adam Jones said. Our fan base, its been 31 years. Theirs, its been since 1985, so thats 29 years. Theres some adults that havent seen winners in their lifetime. I think both teams want to see a winner. Kansas Citys improbable run almost ended in the wild card game against the Oakland Athletics, but the never-say-die Royals rallied to send that game into extra innings, before coming from behind once again to win the game in 12 innings. Ned Yosts crew carried that momentum into the ALDS where the Royals upended the ALs best team, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, in three straight games. They needed more than nine innings to win the first two in Anaheim, before routing the Halos, 8-3, in Game 3 to advance in front of a wild Kauffman Stadium crowd. Im more happy for the fans than anyone else, because they waited a long time to get to this point, owner David Glass said, drenched in champagne in the clubhouse celebration. But listen, were not at the end. Were at the beginning of something that could be really good. No team signified small ball more than Kansas City, which won 89 games this season thanks in large part to its ability to play defense and manufacture runs. The Royals also led the AL with 153 stolen bases, but their 95 home runs were the fewest in baseball. Kansas City, though, has enjoyed the luxury of the home run here in the postseason and won the first two games in Anaheim on the strength of two extra-inning homers. The Royals have hit just as many this postseason (4) as the Orioles, a team that blasted 116 more than them during the regular season. Well, you know, it was huge. Won us two games, Yost said of the power hitting after Sundays clincher. Coming into this game, we were hitting .162 as a team, they were hitting .141, but the difference were the two big home runs. That gave us the edge. Tonight the power was huge again. If there is one perceived weakness within the Royals it could be their starting pitching. James Shields is the ace and will get the call in Game 1 against the Os. Shields has yet to live up to his Big Game James moniker in the postseason, going 3-4 with a 4.96 ERA in eight starts. Hes also lost both of his ALCS starts while with the Tampa Bay Rays. The right-hander, though, picked up the win in his teams clincher over the Angels, surrendering a pair of runs and six hits in six innings. He is 11-7 lifetime versus the Os with a 3.52 ERA in 26 starts. Hes that guy whos going to set the tone for the series, said reliever Wade Davis. He goes out and does his thing, the next guys going to follow suit, and its worked like that since the day I got called up. Baltimore, meanwhile, beat the ALs last three Cy Young Award winners to sweep its way past the Detroit Tigers. While the Tigers three aces werent exactly lights out, the Orioles were able to batter the beleaguered Tigers bullpen to the tune of 10 earned runs in just 4 2/3 innings. Theyve got a lot to be proud of, said Orioles manager Buck Showalter, who won his first postseason series. Its a step. Theres different steps during the season that you have to take and this is one of them. Its so hard against a team like Detroit that has a great pedigree and experience at (the postseason). Baltimore slugged its way to the postseason for the second time in three years thanks to its first AL East crown since 1997 after going 96-66. The win total was the most for an Os team since they accumulated 98 in the year of their last division title. The Os had to overcome a pair of serious injuries along the way, as catcher Matt Wieters was lost for the season in June with an elbow injury, while promising third baseman Manny Machado again suffered a serious leg injury that required surgery in August. Then as if that wasnt enough last years home run champion Chris Davis was suspended for the use of amphetamines in September. Davis is eligible to return for Game 6 of this series, but will probably be left off the roster. Regardless, it didnt slow the Orioles down from an offensive standpoint, as they hit a league high 211 dingers, with Nelson Cruz leading the way with an MLB-best 40. Cruz continued to mash against the Tigers, going 6-for-12 with a pair of home runs and five RBI. Eight of Cruzs 16 postseason home runs have come against Detroit. Hes been awesome all year, said Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis. Thats the main reason we got him. I played a lot of games against him and hes done a lot of damage against us. Im just glad hes on our team doing the damage now. Baltimores rotation almost mirrors Kansas City with its lack of star power, but the group did have three 13-game winners (Wei-Yin Chen, Bud Norris and Chris Tillman) for the first time since 97, when Scott Erickson, Jimmy Key and Mike Mussina helped pitch the Os to a division title. Tillman gets the call on Friday after beating the Tigers in Game 1 of the ALDS. He surrendered two runs and four hits in five innings of that one. Tillman was as good as any pitcher down the stretch, going 6-1 in the second half with a 2.33 ERA in 14 starts. Overall he was 13-6 with a 3.34 ERA. Chris is not a look-at-me guy, said Showalter. He wants to blend in. Weve got a lot of those guys. And hed be the first to tell you, when youre talking about Shields and youre talking about (Justin) Verlander and (Max) Scherzer and (David) Price, Chris will say, I havent earned that, I havent done it consistently over a long period of time. In five starts against the Royals he is 2-2 with a 6.21 ERA. The Royals won four of seven from the Orioles during the regular season, outscoring Baltimore 26-18. Buy Air Max 95 China .com) - Theres nothing better for a team than to send out the staff ace in the most important game of the season. Cheap Air Max 95 Wholesale . General Manager Sam Presti said the three-time All-Star had knee swelling that would not subside, and the procedure was intended to solve the problem. He said doctors determined that a loose stitch was to blame for the swelling, that Westbrooks lateral meniscus has healed properly and the procedure was successful. http://www.cheapairmax95china.com/ .com) - Manchester City will face a steep test in the Champions League knockout stage as the English champions were drawn with Barcelona on Monday.CONROE, Texas - Adrian Peterson wont be coming back to the field any time soon.A Texas judge on Wednesday tentatively set a Dec. 1 trial date for the Minnesota Vikings star running back on a charge of felony child abuse for using a wooden switch to discipline his 4-year-old son earlier this year. Peterson is on paid leave and the Vikings final game of the regular season is Dec. 28.Theres no guarantee the trial will begin Dec. 1, either. Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon indicated he intends to file a motion to recuse Judge Kelly Case after the judge allegedly called attorneys in the case media whores. Case apologized, but a Nov. 4 hearing was scheduled on whether to assign a new judge.Defence attorney Rusty Hardin said he didnt mind Cases comment because hes been called worse. But he said he wants to try the case as quickly as possible since Peterson cant play in the NFL while the charge is pending.The only way to get this solved is to have a quick and speedy trial, Hardin said afterward.Accompanied by his wife and with his mother sitting behind him in the gallery, Peterson did not speak during his initial court appearance and did not enter a plea. Hardin has indicated Peterson will plead not guilty to the charge that carries a penalty of up to two years in prison.Peterson arrived in a black Cadillac Escalade at the suburban Houston courthouse. Nearby was a person wearing a wildcat costume and holding a sign that said Free AP in sparkling letters, prompting a chuckle from Hardin. Several women stood near the courthouse entrance shrieking and talking about how handsome Peterson looked after he entered the building.Peterson, who was put on leave under a special roster exemption from the NFL commissioner, was indicted last month. He has said he never intended to harm his son and was only disciplining him in the same way he had been as a child growing up in East Texas.Corporal punishment is legal in every U.S. state. Should Petersons case go to trial, legal experts say, the final determination of what is reasonable discipline will be based on the standards found in the local community a€” and Texas law offers no definition of what that is. It says the use of non-deadly force against someone younger than 18 is justified if a parent or guardian reasonably believes the force is necessary to discipline the child or to safeguard or promote his welfare.The Texas Attorney Generals Office notes that belts and brushes are accepted by many as legitimate disciplinary tools, but electrical or phone cords, boards, yardsticks, ropes, shoes, and wires are likely to be considered instruments of abuse.F. Scott McCown, director of the Childrens Rights Clinic at the University of Texas School of LLaw that represents children in abuse and neglect cases, said people can have abstract debates about what is reasonable but they tend to come to a consensus when looking at a specific case. Wholesale Air Max 95. Some of the factors that tend to be used to decide whether corporal punishment was unreasonable include whether a child needed medical attention and if the disciplining left visible marks and bruises, McCown said. According to court records, Petersons son suffered cuts, marks and bruising to his thighs, back and on one of his testicles.If Petersons case goes to trial, prosecutors and defence attorneys will be picking jurors in a county with conservative beliefs and one that has also banned corporal punishment in its largest school district. E. Tay Bond, an attorney who has worked in Montgomery County for 16 years, said the potential jury pool in the Peterson case will likely not be economically or racially diverse.Because jurors in are summoned via email, the jury pool will be made up of individuals with a higher socio-economic status, who tend to be more conservative, Bond said.People will still discipline their children ... As long as its appropriate and not excessive, its not a crime, Wilke said.Its unclear how many cases involving abuse claims stemming from corporal punishment are dealt with either by Texas courts or CPS. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, CPSs parent agency, doesnt keep statistics detailing whether an abuse case involved corporal punishment. McCown said that in most of the cases his clinic has handled, usually parents do not end up going to jail.Lucy Wilke, a prosecutor in Kerr County for 17 1/2 years, recalled a case in 2010 in which an 11-year-old boy was hit nearly 20 times with a three-foot piece of looped wire by his father for not taking out the trash.This was just excessive. This was abuse and not corporal punishment, said Wilke, who helped convict the Kerrville, Texas, man on a charge of injury to a child.David Dill was sentenced to four years in prison after prosecutors accused him of binding his sons hands, feet and mouth with duct tape and then using the looped wire to hit the boy.The range of punishment for injury to a child charge depends on the defendants intent. Peterson is accused of injuring his son through his reckless actions, while Dill was accused of intentionally or knowingly causing injury to his child. He faced up to 10 years in prison.In court documents, Dill denied doing anything wrong. Like Peterson, Dill said he disciplined his son similar to how he had been punished as a child.___AP Sports Writer Kristie Rieken contributed to this report.___Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter at www.twitter.com/juanlozano70 ' ' '